American Road trip ...clueless!!

slickmcvic

Me and me mate are doin an american roadtrip we're flyin into boston but dont know where or when when we're departing from hopefully miami!!.

A few questions
1. I have a valid passport but its not a new digital 1 ,will this be o.k for gaining entry?
Will i need to get any type of Visa before we leave here?

2.whats the best (and cheapest) way to use your money over there? We're both teachers so holiday money will be goin into our bank accounts.
Do they accept laser over there or will I transfer cash into credit cards and use them instead.

3. Any advice on cheap accomadaton and car hire over there??

cheers
slicik

Strokesfan

such a good idea - could you please let us know how you get on... thinking of doing it myself in a few months....

Sorry can't be of any help really

SoBe

if your passport has the strip along the bottom with all the numbers and letters it should be ok .ie machine readable

i always found the best way to pay for things was my credit card,they accept the laser cards there that have the cirrus logo on them but the charges are a lot and i always found the credit card way cheaper

if your going for less than 90 days you will not need a visa,you will get the visa waiver form to fill out at the airport.and if your flying direct from dublin you will pass immigration before you board the plane.

hope you have fun and enjoy it,hope this is of some help to you

shoutman

To be honest if at all possible you should use cash or Travellers cheques. The fees charged on all plastic, Credit Cards or Laser, are extortianate. Up to 5% of transaction price in some cases. It really can add up! Obviously bring your cards along for emergency but I really thing that hard currency is the best and definately the cheapest way to go.

pow wow

Cheap places to stay...Econo Lodge, Super 8 Motels etc.

I don't find the credit card fees THAT extortionate but yet you will end up paying slightly more than if you paid cash (I mean the amount you pay is the same but your bank will charge a couple of % fee for using the card overseas).

Car hire is a lot cheaper if the hirer is over 25 - seriously cheaper!

themole

shoutman wrote:

To be honest if at all possible you should use cash or Travellers cheques. The fees charged on all plastic, Credit Cards or Laser, are extortianate. Up to 5% of transaction price in some cases.

Really?
I always thought that using credit cards was the best way of paying in another currency as the exchange rate is better that that from a bank for cash.
Also the transaction fees are not usually paid by the customer, in most cases the retailer takes the hit on the fee. There are excpetions of course such as ryanair and ticketmaster, but in shops/hotels they usually swallow the fee.

pow wow

My card charges an additional 2.75% over and above the transaction cost but it shows up as part of the total amount so it's negligible as far as I am concerned.

thebourke

if you lodge money in your credit card....you are not charged the transaction fees....i use credits cards in south east asia.egypt ..no issues!
and the exhcnage rates arent too bad!

themole

ellscurr wrote:

I don't find the credit card fees THAT extortionate but yet you will end up paying slightly more than if you paid cash (I mean the amount you pay is the same but your bank will charge a couple of % fee for using the card overseas).

I don't remember seeing any fees mentioned for creditcard transactions abroad, must have a look at some statements. They do charge you €1.50 for taking cash out form an atm, but the rate given is better than the bank rate.

ellscurr wrote:

Car hire is a lot cheaper if the hirer is over 25 - seriously cheaper!

Indeed, sometimes it can be twice the price for an under 25. Also don't forget to get an international driving licence from the AA.

themole

Just looked at a visa statement for some charges in hungray, and there is not mention of any charge.

50680HUF @ a rate of 248.090855 and i was charged €204.28, an exact conversion. No mention of a fee, unless of course the fee is built into the exchange rate.

patsyh

did a similar thing a few years ago. drove from coast to coast. We got a free car through http://shipping.autodriveaway.com/qquote/servlet/Main?PAGE=CAR_RESULTS&officeCount=999 theres something wrong with their website, as in its hard to get to that list. Theres usually about a 100 cars listed at anytime.

The way it works is that people who want their car delivered somewhere go to autodriveaway and then autodriveaway give the cars out to ordinary people(for a refundable deposit of $250 and the 1st tank of gas is free). You have to kinda stick to the crow flies route but its amazing the places that you end up in, they are the kinda places that you'll never go again. Still managed to take in a few very big cities along the way. It can be hard to get a route that suits due to matching flights so we had to prebook a car about a mth in advance and this limited our choice of car and route(as most good cars are put up with about a weeks notice).

America is the best place for a roadtrip due to accomodation. You dont have to worry because every town has a motel(super 8/motel 6...) and they are very clean and cheap($50 a room). This is a major bonus as you can just hit the road and not worry about accomodation.

slickmcvic

themole wrote:

Also don't forget to get an international driving licence from the AA.

Wasn't aware of that!!!..... cheers!!

CALI

I don't think an international driving permit is necessary?! I hope not as my road trip is June is screwed if it is. I have driven in the states before and it was never asked for. I think it's more for clarification of foreign language driving licences....??

SoBe

you wont need an IDP,an irish licence will be fine,both for renting a car and if you get stopped by the cops.

i never had a problem getting stopped with an irish licence there

Our man in Havana

Indeed. It is not required for english speaking countries. Don't bother with an IDP it is a waste of money.

lizbeth

Having had my share of road trips here in the states, I can give you a few ideas of places to stay. If you don't mind so/so motels, then Super8, Motel 6, among others, are ok ways to go. One thing I usually do is stop at rest areas that have offices (They're usually along the interstates, just inside state lines) . A lot of bigger hotels will put flyers out listing pretty good discounts. I've gotten some good deals in New Orleans (pre-Katrina)this way. You can also pick up free coupon books at places like McDonald's and IHOP. Just check by the door and there are usually booklets you can pick up. They are regional, and will have discounts for different chains in several states. Camping is also a very cheap way to go. www.koa.com is a good place to start if you're interested in camping. If you head down the east coast, make a detour through the Smokies. Very scenic.
Sorry for such a long post. I could go on and on with suggestions, but feel free to PM me if you want more specific info.

Liz

jimmy85

I did vegas and the west coast a couple of years ago, you dont need a International Drivers License, but make sure you have plenty of money on your credit card to put a deposit hold on your rental car, also we only had one named driver on the car and others drove it as well, I know its risky but its cheap as we were only 21 year old students gettin screwed with under 25 fees, as for bank charges, most atms in america will charge their own fees even if its laser or credit card plus you will have your own bank charges, credit cards are the best but withdraw from banks atms i.e bank of america and you wont get screwed with any charges, plus the exchange rate on your credit card is much better, last but not least always have money available on your credit card for deposit holds such as car rentals and hotel deposits etc..

pow wow

themole wrote:

Just looked at a visa statement for some charges in hungray, and there is not mention of any charge.

50680HUF @ a rate of 248.090855 and i was charged €204.28, an exact conversion. No mention of a fee, unless of course the fee is built into the exchange rate.

It is. My T&C say it.s 2.75% of the amount I spend but as I don't see it as a separate charge I ignore it really. For the convenience of using my card in America I'm happy to pay the few pence.

Bank of America does charge for ATM transactions as all the other ones do. Again you could work out if the $2.50 per withdrawal (varies by bank) is cheaper than the 2.75% of your credit card transactions, but it's going to be negligible really. For security I'd take some cash/travellers cheques and rely on your cc for the rest.

dave2pvd

Don't bother with travellers cheques. Their day has come and gone. Most retailers over here won't touch them. You don't need the hassle of not being able to change money or pay for things.

Bring a few 100 dollars cash. Haggle with the bureau d'. They'll hit you with their 'buyers rate', which includes their profit. Tell them to take a hike re the 'commission'.

Your credit card is the best way to go for the rest of your spending money. Most card issuers go by the exchange rate proper, then swipe up to 2% for themselves. Oh - Visa will take an additional 1%, typically. Check with your bank beforehand and find out what they charge. Shop around for the best deal - just because you bank in AIB doesn't mean you couldn't get a Bank of Ireland credit card, for example.

Book your car in advance. Don't show up at the destination airport without a booking - they love that! Hertz and Avis are expensive. Dollar, Alamo and Thrifty are cheap. Don't bother with renting a tiny car. Get something mid-size - you'll appreciate it, given the huge distances. The cost difference is negligible. Now, if you want to save some serious dough, call your insurance co/agent and see if you can add a rider for overseas driving. You need fully comp, ideally. Adding that to your rental policy over here is extortionate. It can double the cost of the rental.

The int'l licence is a scam as far as I can tell. Not sure what purpose it serves nowadays.

Go and see the real America. Not found in Orlando, Las Vegas or the outlet
malls.

Happy travels!

Our man in Havana

The int'l licence is a scam as far as I can tell. Not sure what purpose it serves nowadays.

Agreed! Just scaremongering by the AA who issue them.

Now, if you want to save some serious dough, call your insurance co/agent and see if you can add a rider for overseas driving. You need fully comp, ideally. Adding that to your rental policy over here is extortionate. It can double the cost of the rental.

The likes of Hertz and Avis won't allow a foreign national to do this. Any rates quoted by them automatically include insurance. They do try to sell you pointless personal accident cover which is already covered by your holiday policy. Anyways I seriously doubt that any Irish insurance company would cover you on an Americian hire car.

pow wow

dave2pvd wrote:

Don't bother with travellers cheques. Their day has come and gone. Most retailers over here won't touch them. You don't need the hassle of not being able to change money or pay for things.

Bring a few 100 dollars cash. Haggle with the bureau d'. They'll hit you with their 'buyers rate', which includes their profit. Tell them to take a hike re the 'commission'.

Your credit card is the best way to go for the rest of your spending money. Most card issuers go by the exchange rate proper, then swipe up to 2% for themselves. Oh - Visa will take an additional 1%, typically. Check with your bank beforehand and find out what they charge. Shop around for the best deal - just because you bank in AIB doesn't mean you couldn't get a Bank of Ireland credit card, for example.

Book your car in advance. Don't show up at the destination airport without a booking - they love that! Hertz and Avis are expensive. Dollar, Alamo and Thrifty are cheap. Don't bother with renting a tiny car. Get something mid-size - you'll appreciate it, given the huge distances. The cost difference is negligible. Now, if you want to save some serious dough, call your insurance co/agent and see if you can add a rider for overseas driving. You need fully comp, ideally. Adding that to your rental policy over here is extortionate. It can double the cost of the rental.

The int'l licence is a scam as far as I can tell. Not sure what purpose it serves nowadays.

Go and see the real America. Not found in Orlando, Las Vegas or the outlet
malls.

Happy travels!

I never had any problem using them here but agreed they may end up in some hillbilly town with an ATM and not much else so, although I'd still recommend taking a few travellers checks, don't rely on them for everyday spending. Unless you're shopping at target.

dave2pvd

Bond-007 wrote:

I seriously doubt that any Irish insurance company would cover you on an Americian hire car.

Yeah, I forgot how the insurance 'industry' works in Ireland.

Good point re the holiday policy.

Keep in mind that most ins policies usually don't cover 100%. Often there are get-out terms like deductibles, trade-in value, 90% coverage,.... Now, some credit cards offer what's known as supplementary insurance while on oliday, which will make up the difference. Amex's more posh cards do and I think Mastercard may also.